Moving Murals project intends to introduce art to people who wouldn't typically attend a gallery-based event.

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Chuck Teed

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The silent film The Winer opens with interior shots of happinez wine bar in Saint John. Once the location is established, we're introduced to a couple who share a quiet conversation over a glass of wine.

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Then something unexpected happens. While impatiently waiting for a second glass of wine, the woman breaks into an improvised dance around the bar, disturbing the bar staff and fellow patrons. The dancing continues until her glass is refilled, at which point the entire bar decides to cuts a rug.

It's not your typical short film, but for dancer/choreographer Sarah Johnson, that's the whole point. Johnson, along with filmmaker John Marshall, created The Winer as part of Moving Murals, a project intended to introduce art to people who wouldn't typically attend a gallery-based event. The concept: Shoot an art/dance film in a Saint John location, edit it down to a five minute short, and then show the final product in the exact same location. The Winer ran in a continuous loop for two weeks at happinez, intriguing bar patrons popping in for a quick glass of wine.

"The video just looped, and people were going crazy," says Johnson. "It was unbelievable how many people wanted to do stuff with us." Thus far, the duo has produced three films; Winer, The Board Rocker, an '80s inspired dance-off that takes place on the Boardwalk, and Gal Bot 2000, which features Johnson in a robotic outfit and a gallon of silver makeup. The films were shown in various Saint John locations over the course of the year, and Johnson says the reactions were mostly positive.

"People really like them, and think they're a neat idea," she says. "They don't have to pay money or go to a theatre, people can watch if they feel like it. The Board Rocker was projected on The Boardwalk this summer, and people were wandering around, wondering what was going on. It's something to talk about over dinner, and it shows people that art is happening in Saint John." Johnson and Marshall work together creating each piece, assuming a number of different roles during the creative process. Johnson stars in the films and choreographs the dance sequences, while Marshall shoots and edits each piece. The roles often overlap, and Johnson says the process has improved with each successive film.

"They seem to be getting more ridiculous as they go along," she says, laughing. "Usually one of us will come up with the idea, and then we'll start talking and throwing out more ideas. Then we talk to other people and they build on the idea. They kind of blossom as they go, and grow and grow until they almost get out of hand. John is the guy who's like, 'OK that's enough,' so we work well together that way."

Each film spent a week or two in the spotlight, with Gal Bot 2000 recently showing for a week at Quality Phonics and Electronics. Johnson and Marshall spent a weekend shooting the film in the location at the beginning of October, and Johnson says the shooting received as much attention as the film launch itself.

"We had people walking in asking, 'What are you doing?' she says. "That was part of our thing, just to get people interested and starting a dialogue, basically." Moving Murals was funded in part by Arts New Brunswick, an arm's length arts funding agency with a legislated mandate to facilitate and promote the creation of art. The association administers funding programs for professional artists in the province, and created the regional grant in order to put art back into the communities it represents. The next deadline for the grant is Dec. 1, and Johnson says she and Marshall will definitely reapply for funding.

"The funding is for artists to promote their community, and it also allows the artists to stay in their community," she says. "It's worked really well in other communities, so when we got it we thought it was great, because it's a fantastic way to get the work out and promote Saint John. We have a ton of artists here and we need the money." Before they start whipping up grant applications, however, Johnson and Marshall need to finish their last film of the series. The final idea isn't fully fleshed out yet, but initial ideas include a lot of people and a confined space. Johnson says the films will eventually find their way on the Internet (Winer is already making the rounds on YouTube), but hopes they'll make one more uptown appearance before the end of the year.

"We're hoping to have a film hop, with each film showing in its original location," she says. "Our goal is to go out with a big bang."

They'll get a wider audience on the Internet, but we want to get them uptown one more time." Johnson hasn't specified what she and Marshall have on their plate for their next collaboration, but expect more filming and more dancing.

Moving Murals has met with nothing but success thus far, and Johnson says her appearances are giving her quite a reputation amongst her peers.

"I wasn't going to go out one night, but my friends insisted, saying, 'You have to go out, you have your fans'," says Johnson. "Friends who were in the films have even had people come up to them on the street. It's really funny."